I decided to change the sign-up button for my newsletter, Digital Education. Why? Why not? This is what it looks like now:
"It’s true to say that the vast majority of children, whilst at different levels of risk, will not come to harm. But what can we as parents do to give ourselves a level of assurance that our children are safe and know what to do if they get into an unfamiliar situation, or one that makes them feel uncomfortable?" Alan MacKenzie gives some practical advice. 
“Young people can be sensible online – if they want to be”, says Ellie Gregson. Ellie offers a teen’s-eye view of staying safe online.
"Until adults move on from the dismissive and patronising position of ‘the online world isn’t real or valid’ we will continue to fail in the quality of the support we offer our children."
Simon Finch suggests a much more useful approach.
Being safe on the internet is vital. If you’re concerned about being safe on the internet or just want a few ideas of how to be safe you have come to the right place!
I came across the eCadets scheme recently, and mentioned it in the special e-safety edition of Digital Education. I thought it sounded very interesting. With schools looking for more sustainable eSafety solutions I caught up with the co-founder of the innovative eCadet scheme, Henry Platten, to find out how to create a lasting eSafety legacy in your school. Ever come across those schools where the e-safety “policy” consists of a Local Authority template with the blanks filled in with the school’s name, and stuck in the bottom of a filing cabinet in the headteacher’s office? Well, the e-Cadets scheme aims to change all that by giving the children themselves responsibility.
This is a bumper edition that contains loads of articles, including contributions from Rose Luckin, Maddi Holt, student Ellie Gregson, student Caleb, pupil Anna, Alan Mackenzie and Simon Finch. Read on for the full list of contents.
I thought you might like some information on the forthcoming edition of Digital Education, which includes a special e-safety supplement. It contains the following articles:
Now that the new Computing curriculum in England has been running for nearly a term, it's a great time to stand back and take stock. Actually, I recommend doing that even if you are not in England and/or have not needed to change anything. Here's a list of 5 questions you might care to ask yourself:
Steve publishes the Learning with E's blog. The articles are not only very thought-provoking, they often also include references so you can follow up the reading for yourself. At the moment, Steve is writing a great series on learning theories. I asked him to tell me about his current research.
Today I published a short, one page newsletter. It’s a great read (he says modestly), with some interesting links and free resources. Here’s what it contains:
The Government has laid down what must be taught in the National Curriculum. Should they now start telling teachers how to do their job?The Spectator does it. The Economist does it. Even children’s comics do it. So I thought: Let’s do it. Let’s make a Christmas double issue of the Digital Education newsletter.
I’d like to be able to say I’d planned it that way right from the start, but that would be something of (to use Winston Churchill’s wonderful expression) a terminological inexactitude. In truth, the November edition was delayed due to a family illness, so it made sense to bring out a bumper edition now so people who subscribe have plenty to keep them going until January! I’ve included articles on a wide variety of topics:
It is taking me ages to edit this bumper double edition, but I think it will be worth the wait! It should be out soon – possibly even later today. Here’s just some of what it contains:
With a new Computing curriculum that focuses on students learning to code and writing simple programs it’s important for school ICT and Computing heads, teachers or those responsible for ICT/Computing to make sure their school network is secure and able to handle the new requirements without compromising the rest of the system.
Here are a few considerations to help with that and make sure your data is safe and the students can enjoy exploring new learning securely.
I’ve been working on a long-ish article about big data for my newsletter, Digital Education. To give you a hint of some of my misgivings, here is a diagram I prepared to illustrate some of my points.(c) Terry Freedman All Rights Reserved